Rose Namajunas & Carla Esparza Talk TUF 20
Rose Namajunas and Carlos Esparza may have taken very different paths during The Ultimate Fighter 20, but they got to the same place nonetheless. Tomorrow (Friday Dec. 12th, 2014) will see the collision of Esparza and Namajunas in The Ultimate Fighter 20 finals, but then there is the added twist of the inaugural women’s strawweight title thrown in the mix too.
The winner will be crowned champion in front of the crowds of fans in Las Vegas, Nevada, and may well go on to be the next icon in WMMA. With so much at stake, and after a long season of fighting in The Ultimate Fighter 20, it’s likely that both competitors will come in fired up and ready to bang. Such a formula could lead to a FOTN award winning bout.
“Thug” really showed her abilities off on the mat during the latest instalment of TUF, earning three submissions on the bounce to get her spot in the finals. “Cookie Monster” earned a submission win, and two decisions en route to getting her spot in the history making title fight this week.
Along with the step up in competition, and the prize at the end of the tunnel, it’s common knowledge that The Ultimate Fighter experience can be an assault on the senses. In fact, Esparza told Ariel Helwani of MMAFighting.com that it was a cross between ‘jail and a dorm room’, and also that she didn’t expect to get to the finals of the competition:
Her TUF 20 finals opponent Namajunas gives her opinion on The Ultimate Fighter 20, giving a flipside opinion to Esparza. “Thug” believes she was the best fighter in the house, and K-1/UFC veteran Pat Barry drops in to back up her argument:
So on the brink of another big weekend for the UFC, we look forward to seeing the cream of The Ultimate Fighter 20 crop clash in the finals. Will it be the tricky, super talented Rose Namajunas, or the hard-nosed wrestler Carla Esparza that leaves as the strawweight champ in Vegas?
Stay tuned to LowKickMMA.com for more pre-fight hype and coverage of The Ultimate Fighter 20 finals.
